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[Live Blog] No. 7 Penn State vs. Michigan State

Greetings from Beaver Stadium, Penn State fans! It’s Senior Day and James Franklin’s Nittany Lions will play host to the Spartans of Michigan State on the last day of the regular season for a shot at a Big Ten East division title. We’ll have live updates throughout today’s Big Ten showdown (and that other important one) on this page, including analysis, photos, tweets, and more. The game will air live on ESPN. Here’s the media information you’ll need and here are our staff predictions.

4:26 — McSorley completes 43 yards to Juwan Johnson and the Nittany Lions move into Michigan State territory. Three plays later, McSorley lobbed one over the top to an open Robinson, who had a clear path to the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. Davis nails the extra point and it’s 45-12 Penn State.

6:33 — Michigan State picked up a first down after the Joey Julius touchback, but were forced to punt after getting shut down three-straight plays.

9:11 — LJ Scott picks up a first down with two rushes, but three-straight incompletions from O’Connor brings up fourth down. The Spartans go for it and O’Connor throws another incompletion to give Penn State the ball at the Michigan State 42.

10:53 — Mark Allen rushes twice for a combined eight yards and McSorley throws an incompletion before Gillikin comes on to punt. He sends it 41 yards, where Michigan State fair catches at the 31-yard line.

13:40 — The Spartans get decent yardage on two plays to get out of their own end zone. John Reid gets called for pass interference as the Spartans get near midfield. Penn State gets back-to-back tackles for loss and an incompletion to force another punt from Hartbarger that goes for a touchback.

15:00 — Penn State started the drive in Michigan State territory, but goes three-and-out and punts it right back. Gillikin’s punt is downed at the Michigan State two-yard line.

7:03 — With a couple completions and an important third down conversion keeper, O’Connor had Michigan State driving down the field, but he fumbled the snap in Penn State territory and the Nittany Lions recovered.

8:54 — Andre Robinson busts a 15-yard run to get into Michigan State territory before Trace McSorley launches again down field and finds Gesicki for a 45-yard touchdown and Davis nails another extra point as Penn State goes up 24-12.

11:02 — The Spartans had a decent return on the kickoff, but a holding penalty brought it back to the Michigan State 14. After a 10-yard completion from O’Connor to Price for the first down, Penn State shut down the Michigan State offense on the next three plays as Jake Hartbarger punts it 46 yards to the Penn State 31.

Second Quarter

0:10 — Michigan State squib kicked it to the Penn State 25 and McSorley takes a knee to bring us to halftime.

2:14 — O’Connor starts the drive with a 17-yard completion, and the Spartans continued to charge down the field with a pair of completions and runs to the Penn State 32. O’Connor completed over the middle for Michigan State’s sixth third down conversion to get Michigan State into the red zone for the fourth-straight drive. Penn State got a stop on third and goal to bring on the Michigan State kicking team. Geiger put the 21-yard attempt through the uprights to give the Spartans a 12-10 lead.

7:17 — Trace McSorley accounts for 71 yards on the drive, including 61 in the air, to set up Penn State in the red zone. Saquon Barkley flies over the defensive line for a one-yard touchdown and Davis nails the PAT to give Penn State a 10-9 lead.

13:11 — Joey Julius knocks it through the end zone for a touchback. Damion Terry completes to Josiah Price for 23 yards.The Spartans picked up a pair of third-down conversions to get to the Penn State 24. Terry rushes in to the red zone for another first down at the 12-yard line, but is shaken up on the play and replaced at quarterback by Tyler O’Connor. O’Connor is sacked by Manny Bowen and Troy Apke on third down, and the Spartans settle for another field goal — a 33-yarder — to make it 9-3 Michigan State.

Tyler Davis hits a 35-yard field goal to cut Michigan State's lead to 6-3 with 13:11 to play before the half.

First Quarter

2:44 — Miles Sanders returns the kick to the 23-yard line. Trace McSorley brings Penn State into Michigan State territory with completions to Mike Gesicki and Chris Godwin. McSorley throws to DeAndre Thompkins, who makes a move and gets another first down with the 13-yard gain at the Michigan State 26. The quarter ends on that play with Michigan State leading 6-0.

7:04 — The Spartans power into the red zone for the second-straight drive, but Penn State’s defense does enough to force another field goal attempt. Michael Geiger nails the 36-yard field goal to make it 6-0.

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About the Author

Steve Connelly is a senior majoring in PR and an editor for Onward State. He is a proud native of the state of New Jersey, and yes, he is literal trash. He is a soccer fan, nap enthusiast, and chicken tender connoisseur. He tries to be a photographer sometimes despite one of his photos inspiring the name of his future sports bar, the Blurry Zamboni. You can follow him on Twitter @slc2o (feel free to slide), email him at [email protected], or come say hi to him in his office, the Irving's basement.

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